Cosmetic applicator

ABSTRACT

A capless cosmetic applicator provided with a finger piece and a cylindrical casing turnably engaged with the finger piece. The tip portion of the finger piece is opened and provided with a pair of shutter pieces swingably engaged with an inside wall thereof so that the shutter pieces are opened when a solid cosmetic contained therein is used or alternately closed when the applicator is not used. The opening or closing motion of the shutter pieces is operated by an actuating means disposed within the applicator when the finger piece is relatively turned with the cylindrical casing.

United States Patent Kiyoshi Fukui [72] Inventor Saitama-ken, Japan [21 Appl. No. 38,240 [22] Filed May 18, 1970 [45] Patented Oct. 12, 1971 [7 3] Assignee Shiseido Co., Ltd.

Tokyo, Japan 54 cosmrmc APPLICATOR 8 Claims, 12 Drawing Figs.

[52] US. Cl 132/88.7 [51 1 Int. Cl A45d 40/26 [50] Field of Search l32/88.7

[5 6] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,336,328 12/1943 Whalen l32/88.7

3,062,222 1 1/1962 Quinn Primary Examiner-Russell R. Kinsey Assistant Examiner-J. Q. Lever Attorneys-Robert E Burns and Emmanuel J. Lobato ABSTRACT: A capless cosmetic applicator provided with a finger piece and a cylindrical casing turnably engaged with the finger piece. The tip portion of the finger piece is opened and provided with a pair of shutter pieces swingably engaged with an inside wall thereof so that the shutter pieces are opened when a solid cosmetic contained therein is used or alternately closed when the applicator is not used. The opening or closing motion of the shutter pieces is operated by an actuating means disposed within the applicator when the finger piece is relatively turned with the cylindrical casing.

lilil l PATENTEUncnzaen v 3,612,072

sum 1 or 3 F lg. IB

cosmmc APPLICATOR BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a cosmetic applicator, more particularly, relates to a capless cosmetic applicator for solid cosmetics, such as lipstick, eyebrow pencils, mascara and other solid cosmetic materials. However, for convenience of the illustration to clarify the characteristic feature of the present invention, a cosmetic applicator utilized for lipstick is particularly described as an embodiment of the-presentinvention.

A principal object of the present invention is to provide an improved cosmetic applicator which allows instant application of a solid cosmetic without taking off a cap of the applicator.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an im proved cosmetic applicator which allows one-hand operation for exposing asolid cosmetic from a housing in the applicator.

Other and more'detailed objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent as the description of a'suitable form of applicator embodying the invention is hereinafter described.

The cosmetic applicator of the present invention is provided with a finger piece and a cylindrical casing turnably engaged with the finger piece. One of the characteristic features of the cosmetic applicator according to the present invention is that BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL YIE'WS OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 'IA is a perspective elevational view of the assembled applicator according to the present invention,

FIG. 1B is a perspective view of the assembled applicator of FIG. IA showing the-lipstick in its projected position,

FIG. 2 is a perspective exploded view of major components of the applicator of FIG. 1A,

FIG. 3 is a perspective exploded view of a subassembly of certain elements of the applicator of FIG. I,

FIG. 4 is an inside view of the finger piece of the applicator of FIG. I, 7

FIG. 5 is a side view of an element of the subassembly shown in FIG. 3,

FIGS. 6A, 6B and 6C are side views showing the motion of shutter pieces with respect to the element shown in FIG. 5,

FIG. 7A is an enlarged elevational view, partly in longitu- DETAILED DESCRIPTION Referring now to the drawings from FIG. 1A to FIG. 7B, the cosmetic applicator of the present -invention comprises a finger piece 1 and a cylindrical casingiturrlably engaged with the finger piece 1. A pair of shutter pieces 6 are swingably disposed within the finger piece I so that the shutter pieces 6 close or open an aperture la passlngthrough the finger piece 1. Means for actuating the motion of the shutter pieces 6 is provided within the cylindrical casing 2. The actuating means comprises a cylindrical sleeve member 4 coaxially disposed in the cylindrical casing 2 so that the cylindrical casing2 can be relatively turned thereto. To attain the above-mentioned function, a bottom end of the sleeve member 4 engages with a circular recessed groove 2bformed at the bottom plate 2a of the cylindrical casing 2. A tip portion of the sleeve member 4 forms an outwardly expanded head portion 4a having a partly cutout spherical outer profile so that an aperture 4c is formed at the head portion 4a. The sleeve member 4 is provided with a pair of longitudinally extended slots 4b symmetrically formed with respect to an axis thereof. An actuating cylindrical sleeve 5 is inserted between the cylindrical casing 2 and the sleeve member 4 in such a way that the sleeve 5 is secured to the cylindrical casing 2. The actuating cylindrical sleeve 5 is provided with a pair of helical grooves 5a symmetrically formed upon the inside wall thereof. A pair of pins 4d are symmetrically formed upon the head portion 40. Each shutter piece 6 comprises a main portion having a curved plate 6a and a pair of supporting portions. The curved plate 6a forms a cutout spherical surface so that an inside surface coincides with the outer surface of the head portion 4a of the sleeve member 4 and both ends of the curved plate 6d form supporting portions, respectively. One of the supporting portions designated as 6b, forms a projection 60 provided with a circular aperture 6d. The projection 6c is provided with a particular shape, that is, one side 6e of the projection 60 faces a'lateral direction of the cylindrical casing 2 when the shutter piece 6 is in the closing position, while the other side 6f of the projection 60 forms an inclined surface as shown in the drawing. Shape and function of the shutter piece 6 at the left side in FIG. 7A is similar to that of theshutter plate at the right side. Since the other supporting portion of the shutter piece 6 at the left side is not shown in the drawing, the shape and function of the other supporting portion are illustrated by the portion 6g of the shutter piece 6 at the right side. As it is shown in FIGS. 7A and 7B, the supporting portion 6g is a cutout end of the curved plate itself so that the end surface 6h of the supporting portion 6g always slidably contacts the outer semicircular surface 6i of the projection 6c when these two shutter pieces 6 are assembled. The

circular aperture 6d is turnably engaged with the pin 4d of the head portion 4a of the sleeve member 4 when these two shutter pieces 6 are assembled. Since the shutter piece 6 at the right side in FIG. '7 has the same construction as that of the other shutter piece 6, a circular aperture (not shown) of the piece at the right side is also turnably engaged with the other pin 4 d. In this condition, the shutter pieces 6 can be turned about the pins 4d as shown in FIGS. 6A, 6B and 6C.

The actuating sleeve 5 is provided with a pair of notch portions 5c formed at symmetrical positions of a cylindrical edge 5f thereof. Each notch portion Sc is provided with a cutout recess 5d and a projection 5e. When the elements of the present applicator are assembled and the actuating sleeve 5 is turned counterclockwise about the sleeve member 4, the inclined surface 6f of the projection 6 c of each shutter piece 6 is tuned counterclockwise about the pin 4d by a sliding contact action of the cylindrical edge 5f of the actuating sleeve 5 so that the shutter piece 6 is turned about the pin 4d as shown in FIG. 7B. The other shutter piece 6 is similarly turned as mentioned above. These turning motions of the shutter pieces 6 are limited by the cylindrical edge 5f because the edge 5f also has a function for restricting further turning motion of these shutter pieces 6. On the other hand, when the actuating sleeve 5 is turned clockwise about the sleeve member 4, each projection 5e contacts with the side 6e of the projection 60 and pushes the projection 6c by a further turning motion of the actuating sleeve 5 so that the projection 6c, that is, each shutter piece 6 is turned clockwise about the pin 44. And when these shutter pieces 6 contact each other as shown in FIGS. 6A and 7A, the closing motion of the shutter pieces 6 is completed. When the shutter pieces 6 contact each other, the clockwise rotation of the actuating sleeve 5 about the sleeve member 4 is restricted.

Since the finger piece I is provided with a pair of recesses lb symmetrically formed inside a surface thereof so that the projections 4d of the head portion 4a of the sleeve member 4 are allowed to engage, the finger piece 1 moves together with the sleeve member 4. On the other hand, the actuating sleeve 5 is secured to the cylindrical casing 2 by a certain fixing agent. Therefore, the actuating sleeve moves together with the cylindrical casing 2. Consequently, the opening or closing motion of the shutter pieces 6 is actuated by a relative turning motion of the cylindrical casing 2 with respect to the finger piece 1.

As shown in FIGS. 2, 3, and 7A, the sleeve member 4 is provided with a flange portion 4e, while the actuating sleeve 5 is provided with the cylindrical recess portion 5g at its bottom so that the flange portion 4c engages with the cylindrical recess portion 5g when these elements are assembled.

A small barrel 8 is slidably disposed inside the sleeve member 4. The lateral outside diameter of the barrel 8 is slightly less than the inside diameter of the sleeve member 4. The barrel 8 is opened at one end 8a and closed at the other end 8b and provided with a pair of pins 8c symmetrically formed at an adjacent outside position to the closed end 8b thereof. Each pin 8c is formed with a particular size so that the pin 8c is allowed to slide within the longitudinally extended slot 4b while engaging with the helical groove 5a when these elements are assembled. In other words, the barrel 8 can be displaced along the longitudinal extended slots 4b by the relative turning motion of the actuating sleeve 5 about the sleeve member 4. Therefore, the barrel 8 can be displaced along the longitudinal axis of the present applicator by the relative turning motion of the cylindrical casing 2 with respect to the finger piece 1. The helical angle of each helical groove is about 180 so that the barrel 8 is allowed to displace from the bottom position to the top position within the applicator by the 180 turning of the cylindrical casing 2. The location of the helical groove 5a and the shapes of the projections 52 are also very important. That is, it is required to fully open the shutter pieces 6 before the tip portion of the lipstick 3 comes to the opening 4c of the sleeve member 4. in this embodiment, the end position of each helical groove 5a (left end side in H0. 3) is located at approximately a middle position between these two projections Se. The length of the barrel 8 is so designed that when the projections 8c come to the end position of each helical groove 5a, the open end 8a of the sleeve 8 comes just below the opening 4c of the sleeve member 4. The lipstick 3 is held by the sleeve 8. Therefore, when it is required to use the lipstick 3, as a first step, a user relatively turns the cylindrical casing 2 with respect to the finger piece 1 so that the shutter pieces 6 are firstly opened by the turning motion of the projections 60 about the respective pin 4d while the barrel 8 is displaced towards the opening 4c of the sleeve member 4 as already illustrated. Since the shutter pieces 6 are already opened, the lipstick 3 is allowed to project from the opening 4c by further turning of the cylindrical casing 2. When it is required to house the lipstick within the applicator, the cylindrical casing 2 is turned toward the reverse direction. By the above-mentioned reverse turning of the cylindrical casing 2, the barrel 8 is firstly displaced towards the bottom of the applicator and after the tip portion of the lipstick 3 is displaced within the opening 4c of the sleeve member 4, the projections 5e of the actuating sleeve contact and push the side 6e of the projection 6c, so that the shutter pieces 6 are turned about the respective pins 4d towards their closing direction and finally, these shutter pieces 6 are closed.

The above-mentioned turning of the cylindrical casing 2 can be easily operated by fingers of one hand of the user.

In a modified embodiment of the cosmetic applicator according to the invention shown in F IG. 8, the construction and function of the component elements are quite similar to the first embodiment, except for the relation between the finger piece with the actuating sleeve. Since the construction and function of the component elements of these two embodiments are similar, similar component elements are designated by the same numerals in the drawings. Therefore, the difierent construction and functions of the second embodiment from the first embodiment are hereinafter illustrated. In this second embodiment, the finger piece 1 is extended to an adjacent position to the bottom portion of the applicator, in other words, the cylindrical casing 2 is very short. It is important that the cylindrical casing 2 is secured to the actuating sleeve 5 so that the finger piece 1 is allowed to turn about the actuat' ing sleeve 5.

What is claimed is:

1. In a cosmetic applicator comprising a finger piece having an aperture passing therethrough and a cylindrical casing turnably engaged with an inner end portion of said aperture and means for carrying projectably and rectractably a solid cosmetic relative to an open outer end of said finger piece, an improvement comprising a sleeve member turnably held within said cylindrical casing, said sleeve member having a barrel provided with a pair of longitudinal slots symmetrically disposed and a head portion having a cutout spherical outer surface together with a cylindrical inner surface passing therethrough, said head portion having a pair of fulcrum pins symmetrically projected from said spherical surface; said finger piece provided with a cutout spherical inside surface so that a cutout spherical space is formed between said head por tion of said sleeve member and said inside wall thereof when said applicator is assembled; a cylindrical actuating sleeve interpositioned between said cylindrical casing and said barrel of said sleeve member and secured to said cylindrical casing while said sleeve member is capable of turning within said actuating sleeve, said actuating sleeve having a pair of cam means symmetrically formed upon an outer edge thereof and a pair of helical grooves symmetrically formed upon an inside wall thereof; a pair of shutter pieces slidably and turnably mounted upon said head portion of said sleeve member by said fulcrum pins, each of said shutter pieces including a curved plate and a projection provided with an aperture slidably engaged with said fulcrum pin, said projection of each shutter plate being disposed for always contacting said cam means said component elements are assembled, said head portion of said sleeve member fixed to said finger piece; a small barrel slidably held within said sleeve member, said small barrel having an inside space for holding said solid cosmetic and provided with a pair of pins slidably engaged with said helical grooves together with said longitudinal slots respectively; whereby, when said cylindrical casing is manually turned toward a lateral direction with respect to said finger piece, firstly said shutter pieces are turned inwardly within said spherical space before a tip portion of said solid cosmetic comes to said open outer end of said finger piece while said small barrel is displaced towards said outer open end of said finger piece, next, said solid cosmetic is projected from said finger piece by further turning of said cylindrical casing and when said cylindrical casing is turned to a reverse direction, said solid cosmetic is firstly concealed within said finger piece and next, said shutter plates contact each other so that said opening of said finger piece is completely closed.

2. An improved cosmetic applicator according to claim I, wherein said cam means comprises a cylindrical edge facing said head portion of said sleeve member and a pair of notch portions symmetrically formed upon said cylindrical edge, each of said notch portions comprises a recess and a small projection projecting beyond said cylindrical surface so that said projection of said shutter piece is slidably positioned upon said cylindrical edge and engages with said recess when said shutter piece is in an opened position thereof while engaging with said small projection when said shutter piece is in a closed position thereof, whereby an opening or closing motion of said shutter pieces are actuated by turning motion of said actuating sleeve.

3. An improved cosmetic applicator according to claim 2, wherein said projection of each shutter piece is provided with an inclined surface for contacting said cylindrical edge and recess.

4. An improved cosmetic applicator according to claim 2, wherein said cylindrical edge of said actuating sleeve is disposed to restrict the inward turning motion of each shutter piece.

5. An improved cosmetic applicator according to claim 1, wherein each shutter plate is provided with a facing edge and the facing edges of said shutter pieces contacting each other in use without defining a slit.

6. An improved cosmetic applicator according to claim 1, wherein said sleeve member is provided with said pair of longitudinal slots terminating at a position adjacent to said head portion so that an outer open end of said small barrel is restricted in its displacement at a position adjacent of an outer opening of said head portion thereof.

7. An improved cosmetic applicator according to claim 2,

180, said notch portions are formed at approximately middle positions upon said cylindrical edge between terminals of said helical grooves adjacent to said cylindrical edge.

8. An improved cosmetic applicator according to claim I, wherein said finger piece extends to a position adjacent to a bottom portion of said applicator so that said finger piece turnably contacts an outer-surface of said actuating sleeve, and said cylindrical casing being fixed to a bottom end portion wherein said actuating sleeve is provided with said helical l0 ofsaid actuating Sleeve grooves, said helical grooves having a spiral angle of about 

1. In a cosmetic applicator comprising a finger piece having an aperture passing therethrough and a cylindrical casing turnably engaged with an inner end portion of said aperture and means for carrying projectably and rectractably a solid cosmetic relative to an open outer end of said finger piece, an improvement comprising a sleeve member turnably held within said cylindrical casing, said sleeve member having a barrel provided with a pair of longitudinal slots symmetrically disposed and a head portion having a cutout spherical outer surface together with a cylindrical inner surface passing therethrough, said head portion having a pair of fulcrum pins symmetrically projected from said spherical surface; said finger piece provided with a cutout spherical inside surface so that a cutout spherical space is formed between said head portion of said sleeve member and said inside wall thereof when said applicator is assembled; a cylindrical actuating sleeve interpositioned between said cylindrical casing and said barrel of said sleeve member and secured to said cylindrical casing while said sleeve member is capable of turning within said actuating sleeve, said actuating sleeve having a pair of cam means symmetrically formed upon an outer edge thereof and a pair of helical grooves symmetrically formed upon an inside wall thereof; a pair of shutter pieces slidably and turnably mounted upon said head portion of said sleeve member by said fulcrum pins, each of said shutter pieces including a curved plate and a projection provided with an aperture slidably engaged with said fulcrum pin, said projection of each shutter plate being disposed for always contactIng said cam means said component elements are assembled, said head portion of said sleeve member fixed to said finger piece; a small barrel slidably held within said sleeve member, said small barrel having an inside space for holding said solid cosmetic and provided with a pair of pins slidably engaged with said helical grooves together with said longitudinal slots respectively; whereby, when said cylindrical casing is manually turned toward a lateral direction with respect to said finger piece, firstly said shutter pieces are turned inwardly within said spherical space before a tip portion of said solid cosmetic comes to said open outer end of said finger piece while said small barrel is displaced towards said outer open end of said finger piece, next, said solid cosmetic is projected from said finger piece by further turning of said cylindrical casing and when said cylindrical casing is turned to a reverse direction, said solid cosmetic is firstly concealed within said finger piece and next, said shutter plates contact each other so that said opening of said finger piece is completely closed.
 2. An improved cosmetic applicator according to claim 1, wherein said cam means comprises a cylindrical edge facing said head portion of said sleeve member and a pair of notch portions symmetrically formed upon said cylindrical edge, each of said notch portions comprises a recess and a small projection projecting beyond said cylindrical surface so that said projection of said shutter piece is slidably positioned upon said cylindrical edge and engages with said recess when said shutter piece is in an opened position thereof while engaging with said small projection when said shutter piece is in a closed position thereof, whereby an opening or closing motion of said shutter pieces are actuated by turning motion of said actuating sleeve.
 3. An improved cosmetic applicator according to claim 2, wherein said projection of each shutter piece is provided with an inclined surface for contacting said cylindrical edge and recess.
 4. An improved cosmetic applicator according to claim 2, wherein said cylindrical edge of said actuating sleeve is disposed to restrict the inward turning motion of each shutter piece.
 5. An improved cosmetic applicator according to claim 1, wherein each shutter plate is provided with a facing edge and the facing edges of said shutter pieces contacting each other in use without defining a slit.
 6. An improved cosmetic applicator according to claim 1, wherein said sleeve member is provided with said pair of longitudinal slots terminating at a position adjacent to said head portion so that an outer open end of said small barrel is restricted in its displacement at a position adjacent of an outer opening of said head portion thereof.
 7. An improved cosmetic applicator according to claim 2, wherein said actuating sleeve is provided with said helical grooves, said helical grooves having a spiral angle of about 180*, said notch portions are formed at approximately middle positions upon said cylindrical edge between terminals of said helical grooves adjacent to said cylindrical edge.
 8. An improved cosmetic applicator according to claim 1, wherein said finger piece extends to a position adjacent to a bottom portion of said applicator so that said finger piece turnably contacts an outer-surface of said actuating sleeve, and said cylindrical casing being fixed to a bottom end portion of said actuating sleeve. 